


In a Barbie World

by quin12



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Magic AU, Size Difference, Tiny!Louis, extreme size difference
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 06:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3839764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quin12/pseuds/quin12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis constantly lies about how tall he is, and it has a Pinocchio type effect. But instead of growing a nose, he just starts shrinking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a Barbie World

**Author's Note:**

> I figure there's always more room for discussing Louis' size. I just wanted to poke fun at his ridiculous complex about being taller than he actually is.

The first morning Louis wakes up and has a little extra room in his shoes, he doesn’t think much about it. But the next week he’s rummaging through his cereal cupboard and has to use a spatula to get at the one shoved in the very back. That cupboard was specially chosen for cereal because he could reach all the way back without problem. Except for today evidently.

A few nights later he’s with Nick on the sofa having a cheeky snog when Nick pulls away. He looks thoughtful, like he’s going to say something profound. “Your arse has gotten a bit smaller, I thought we promised that would never happen.” 

Promises like that were never made, and Louis is a little offended Nick would even bring it up. “My bum is the exact same size. I think you’re starting to forget things in your old age.” 

Nick looks like he wants to argue, but The X Factor has started and there’s a strict no-talking rule when it’s on. Instead, Louis intentionally sits on his lap and fidgets the entire time. Nick keeps his mouth shut on the subject after that.

\---

Next week Louis is meeting some fans when one asks how tall he is. “I’m 5’9.” When she mentions that she’s also 5’9, it’s surely a lie. He had to stand on his tip toes in their picture together, there was at least a two inch deficit. “Not a chance, no way.” He has to keep tightening the drawstring on his pants all day after that. 

It’s Harry who finally says something. “Louis, have you gotten shorter?” He’s got that scrunched up look to him, the one where he’s thinking too hard for his own good. It’s unsettling when he focuses all his attention on a person, his stare cuts right through Louis. 

“No Harry. If anything I’m taller than ever. I’m a grower, me.” Louis puffs out his chest a little in accentuation. 

Harry ambles closer, peeling an orange with a spoon. It’s a trick Caroline had taught them that Louis had never gotten a hang of. He just makes the boys do it for him now. He expects Harry will share half of his orange anyways.

“I’m telling you the truth mate, my nipples are taller than you.” Harry steps up close to Louis to compare. A cold spike of dread runs through Louis’ spine. He just barely has to lift his eyes to Harry’s chest. He’s fucking tiny in comparison.

Immediately bending down, Louis checks to see if Harry’s on stilts or wearing heels. He’s barefoot. “How is that possible? Are you drinking hormones or something? Those are bad for you Harry. I’m just as tall as I used to be, on my way to 6 feet any day now.” But every word is tinged with more hysteria. He’s shrinking, it’s true. He’s been on his tip toes more than ever. When he said goodbye to Nick in the foyer this morning his neck got a little crick from stretching so hard. 

They’re working in the studio today, recording harmonies and working out some hooks. Usually that’s where Louis shines, where he’s the most focused he’s ever been. The very second someone mentions calling it a day, Louis is out, rushing to Nick’s. His mind can’t stop thinking about what Harry brought up.

“Nicholas!” As soon as he opens the door, Louis is yelling. “Nicholas come here this instant.”

Nick stumbles out the bedroom, obviously just having been disturbed from an afternoon nap. “What are you bloody yelling for?” Louis pauses a second to look at Nick. He’s so distracting when he’s just woken up. His hair is wild in a way he never allows, his face a bit puffy and a lot vulnerable, and his shirt is rucked up a bit to show his tummy. It’s a good thing Louis is dead to the world when Nick leaves in the morning, otherwise he’d never get to leave the house.

“Nick, have I shrunk? I mean, I feel as tall as ever, but my clothes have gotten too large and they’re hanging off of me.”

“Don’t be dramatic Lou, I’m su- Wait. Love, you’re tiny.” Nick reaches his hand to touch Louis’ face, and he can almost cradle his head with a single hand. He puts his hand flat to the top of Louis’ head and drags it horizontally back to his body. When the hand only reaches to mid-torso, Nick looks a bit panicked. 

“We can’t freak out about this. I’m sure there’s an explanation for this,” Louis says as he begins pacing. His shoes are like flippers on him, so he kicks them off in order to avoid tripping. One hand is at his waistband, keeping his joggers on his hips. Nick suddenly seems so far away and Loui can’t tell if it’s because his world is growing or if he’s really shrinking. 

Nick leads Louis over to the couch before he can start hyperventilating, running a soothing hand down his back. Nick has stopped growing for the time being— _I’m not shrinking_ Louis stubbornly thinks. Pig rushes over after hearing all the commotion with a toy in her mouth. Louis tries to grasp it, but jolts his hand back after he realizes his hand is barely bigger than the toy. 

“I’m going to make tea. Then we’re going to call a doctor,” Nick resolutely says. 

“Don’t be an idiot, Nick. What are you going to say? ‘My boyfriend is suddenly half his size, oh yeah and he’s also a pop star’? But go ahead with the tea.” Louis retrieves his phone while he waits for Nick to come back and texts Harry. _this is your fault. everything is wrong since you brought up how i’ve gotten shorter._

_sorry lou, i think you need to get that checked out tho_

The rest of the day is spent on Nick’s couch, drinking tea and watching Gogglebox. Nick is in and out, partially trying to lighten his foul mood, partially refilling his mug. Daisy comes over at some point with some medicine. Louis likes Daisy so he allows it. She tries to give him some weird herb mixture that he chokes down, but no change. 

“Oh,” Daisy tuts, “I thought for sure that was going to work.” She juts her lip out in a pout, and at this point Louis just wishes it would’ve worked for her sake. Then she brightens up again and says, “I know something else! But you don’t have to drink anything this time don’t worry.”

Half an hour later Louis’ head is resting in Nick’s lap while at the other end of the couch Daisy is applying some sort of paste to his feet. “Having fun?” Nick murmurs to Louis. His eyebrows are arched, knowing full well Louis’ just humoring her. It’s made him forget his own fury for a while, so he can’t really complain. Louis just smiles up at Nick softly, grateful that he’s got people around to share the stress. 

The paste is rinsed off his feet around dinner time, once it’s clear that nothing is changing. Daisy leaves, with a promise to return tomorrow with some new solutions. Nick and Louis exchange glances and politely decline. “I’m sure there’s better things you have to do. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow anyways,” Louis says with a lot more confidence than he feels. 

Louis demands to be taken piggyback around the house. He’s secretly terrified of how much his perspective has changed and wants to pretend he’s normal for a bit. 

Lying in bed in the dark, Louis says, “Nick, I’m scared.” He’s half hoping Nick’s gone to sleep already. 

There’s a rustle from Nick, “You’re going to be fine. We’ll figure it out, we always do.” The last part was said with such finality, something settles in Louis.

“We do always figure it out, don’t we? We’re a proper team.” They fall silent and Louis can finally get to sleep. 

\---

“Oh fuck,” is the first thing Louis hears when he’s waking up. 

Groaning and burying his head deeper into his pillow, Louis says, “Unless you’re planning on fucking, leave me alone.” 

“Louis, Lou don’t freak out. But you’re smaller, love.” That makes Louis jolt awake, finally registering his surroundings. He’s on Nick’s bed, but it looks the size of the entire flat. Louis looks at his hands, still the same size to him. He realizes the thick blanket on top of him isn’t a blanket at all, but the shirt he was wearing to bed. 

“I’m the size of a fucking Ken doll,” Louis screeches. “Don’t you dare tell me to not freak out.” He feels the same as ever, but the world looks completely different. Pig jumps on the bed and immediately noses at him. It’s overwhelming to suddenly meet a giant beast at 5 am and Louis does not take it well. “Nick! Pick me up!”

A hand comes to pick him up and take him away from Pig. “You’re like the size of my hand,” Nick comments in amazement. “You could go in my pocket.”

“If you put me in your pocket is swear I’ll-” Louis is dropped into Nick’s front shirt pocket and fits perfectly. “I’m going to fucking ruin you when I’m normal sized again, Nick. Don’t test me.” A finger comes down to pat condescendingly on Louis head while Nick just grins down at him. 

Breakfast is an interesting experience to say the least. Nick brews a normal cuppa for him just like every other day, but when he’s done he takes a spoonful and puts it on the table for Louis like a bowl. There’s so much of it he can barely get through half of it before he feels like a cup of tea himself. He nibbles on a bit of Nick’s muffin, taking a chunk of blueberry that’s as large as his face. 

“I hate to admit it but being this small is kind of cool. Everything is so huge,” Louis comments as he’s nestled in Nick’s pocket again. They’re on the way to Nick’s job, deciding there was literally nothing else to be done. If Louis was left alone at home, either Pig would chew him like a toy or he’d get stuck on the couch with no way down all day. No, going with Nick was the only way. Louis was looking forward to seeing Fincham’s face when he found out. They’d dressed him up in a little frock, snipping off the end of a glove and cutting out holes for the head and arms. 

Fiona has the best reaction, it turns out. She shrieks when she sees something moving around in Nick’s shirt, thinking he has some kind of rodent in there. When Louis pops his head out, she falls out of her chair in fright. “Is that Louis Tomlinson? What in the bloody hell is he doing in your shirt?” 

“Hiya Fiona,” Louis responds. He’s getting a kick out of the being small thing in all honesty. “You alright?”

“Nick your boyfriend is tiny. Your boyfriend is the size of a doll and he’s in your shirt pocket,” is all she can manage to say.

Nick is pleased as ever, loving getting a rise out of everyone. Louis was right, they are a team. When Nick feels like it, he can be a downright terror just like Louis. He introduces Tina to his new tiny boyfriend. The cook in the kitchens jump a foot in the air when they see. The snapchats he sends out to Aimee and Alexa include the caption “hanging out my my little pal.” 

Harry comes over when their day is over. Louis can barely stand he’s so exhausted. Living a day in the life of Nicholas Grimshaw is the most tired he’s been in a while. It’s part of the reason he doesn’t have a witty comeback prepared when Harry starts in on the short puns. “What’s the weather like down there? Aw, don’t get _short_ with me.” All he does is groan and sink deeper into Nick’s pocket. 

“Nick, put me in your hair. I want to see what it’s like being your quiff,” Louis says after he’s had a half teaspoon of wine with dinner. They’d argued for a grand total of two minutes about Louis drinking alcohol, one of their quickest fights to date. Louis reasoned that he’s the same as always, just smaller. So they agreed on it, as long as he didn’t accidentally overdo it. Harry just sat watching them with a grin on his face, watching a fierce battle between someone so tall and another so small. 

Louis’ wish is granted and he’s softly placed into Nick’s hair. It’s a bit scary, being up so high. “You alright up there?” Nick questions. Louis can feel the rumble of his voice through his head. When Louis had gotten tired around midday, he fell asleep to the deep rumble he could feel lodged against Nick’s chest. This is different somehow, placed differently. 

“Yes,” Louis yells so that he can be heard.

Harry left them in the evening, claiming he wanted to go give Daisy a report on Louis. Nick shared a knowing glance with Louis. When Harry is infatuated it’s a bit sickening how obvious he is.”Tell Daisy I say hello and that I’ve accepted my fate. Anyways I don’t think she has anything that will fix this.” Louis feels Nick’s laugh more than he hears it and it makes his head swim. 

When they’re tucked quietly in bed, Louis is on the pillow next to Nick’s face and far enough away to not be squashed if Nick rolled over. “Thanks for taking care of me today. It was actually a lot of fun.” Louis can barely keep his eyes open, but he needs Nick to know how much it meant to him. “You were really great.”

 

“And I’ll do it for the next month if I have to, love. I mean, I probably won’t take you to work all the time, and I’m sure your boys would miss you—actually do they have small mics for-”

“Okay Nick, I get it,” Louis yells over Nick. He would’ve gone on until morning without a problem.

Nick smiles over at him and runs a finger softly down Louis’ face. Louis falls asleep holding on to that finger for dear life. 

\---

“Oh. Fuck.”

“I swear to go Nick if that’s how I’m going to wake up from now on I am moving out,” Louis begins. You would think the surprise of being little would’ve stuck around in Nick’s mind from yesterday, but who knows how he processes information.

“No, Louis, you’re fine. You’re you-sized again,” Nick’s voice is _sad_. 

Opening his eyes, Louis sees the world in his proportions again. Thank fuck. “Oh my god, fucking finally.” His smile is so wide it hurts his face. “This is what I’m talking about!” He stretches out his arms and legs in front of him, pleased to see them taking up more space than yesterday.

Nick looks put out, running his eyes over Louis like he’s hoping to shrink him back. “But you were so fun. You didn’t make any mess. It was great.”

“Think of it this way, now we can have ‘thank god I’m fine’ sex.” Louis waggles his eyebrows for effect, and he can see the realization dawn on Nick’s face. When it does, he makes a smile large enough to match Louis’. 

But he pauses Louis when he leans in, saying, “Wait, don’t you want to know why it happened? There must have been a reason.” 

Louis rolls his eyes, completely over the traumatic situation. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Maybe all it took was to accept my size. Or maybe true love’s first kiss. Whatever it was I’m fine.” He reaches for Nick again, and this time he doesn’t pull back.


End file.
